


Ultimate Chaos

by leonanette



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-06 00:10:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11024487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonanette/pseuds/leonanette
Summary: Corvo never breaks out. Corvo doesn't rescue Emily. Hiram Burrows 'rescues' Emily from the Golden Cat and it looks like he's ready to take control of the Empire. But, with Burrows in charge and his inner circle seeking to increase their power, it won't last...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my contribution to High Chaos Week 2016. It was intended to be only a short oneshot but it ballooned into a multi-chaptered fic.
> 
> This is my interpretation of what would happen if Corvo was executed and Emily wasn't rescued. It may look like Burrows has won but, from what we see of his administration style, it won't end well...

All through her time stuck at the Golden Cat, Emily dreamed of Corvo coming to rescue her or Mother coming back from the dead. But, neither of them came.

Instead, Burrows came. He walked into her room, told her to be smile and not say anything and pulled her by the hand out of the Golden Cat. Lots of City Watchmen were standing there and, when they saw her, they all started cheering. The Pendletons were in the crowd, cheering like they were happy to see her, and Madame Prudence was being put in chains with all the other fancy-dressed ladies.

Emily had no idea what was going on as Burrows took her into a railcar. When the door was closed, he said with an eager face, “You have no idea how lucky it was that the Lords Pendleton recognised you. You may have been trapped in the Golden Cat all your life and I shudder to think what the Madame had planned for you.”

“No, they didn’t.” Emily said, confused, “They were the ones that brought me to the Golden Cat and they knew who I was from the beginning.”

All glee from Burrows dropped and he suddenly looked scary, “I think you may have misunderstood. It’s natural for someone so young and so traumatised by events to be a little disorientated but the facts are plain. You were sold to a whorehouse by Corvo’s accomplices and the Pendletons happened upon you during a visit. They recognised you and informed me straight away. The City Watch bravely stormed the building and arrested the Madame and all of her accomplices. That is what happened and that is what you will tell everyone if you want to return to Dunwall Tower and if you don’t want to go back to the Golden Cat, never to be rescued again, where you’ll be made to work for your keep like all the other girls.”

Emily had no power to respond. She wanted to slap him but fear of the Golden Cat made her sit still. She had heard what the ladies did at the Golden Cat. Madame Prudence told her that the men just looked at them but she knew they did more than that. They did painful-looking things, things Emily didn’t understand but that she knew she didn’t want to do herself.

So, unable to think of anything else, she let herself be led into Dunwall Tower, past ugly arc pylons in the front courtyard and a huge wall of light in the doorway. Dunwall Tower didn’t look like home anymore. Burrows had changed too much of it and put his statues everywhere. Mother would have hated seeing it like this.

When she was taken to her room, she got another horrible surprise. Burrows had taken away all her toys and all that was in her room were books. “You are an Empress, not a child.” He said when she turned on him with tears in her eyes, “Your mother has spoiled you too much in the past. Now, I’m going to put it right. You’re to read all of these books by the end of the month and I’ll be bringing in the finest schoolmasters to teach you all you should have been taught years ago.”

She didn’t pick up any of the books in defiance of him and started drawing with paper and a pen she found in a drawer. Burrows didn’t like that. When he came into her room that evening, he had taken them away and ordered her to ‘abandon such frivolous, unbecoming distractions’. At that moment, she had wanted to take that pen and stab him with it. Then, when he left, she became frightened of thinking it. Her mother would never think such a thing.

But, he would deserve it, though…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would make sense for Burrows would double cross Prudence and make her a scapegoat for Emily's kidnapping. What with her being the madam of a brothel and with how little she's liked among the workers, I don't think many people would complain.


	2. Chapter 2

Her room was a bedroom but it was really a prison too. The windows were altered so they couldn’t be opened for more than a crack. Her room was very high up too so, when she tried shouting down to the guards, none of them heard her. Burrows locked the door after him whenever he came in and always accompanied the maid who brought in her meals. He wasn’t her Lord Regent. He was her prison warden.

“If I’m Empress,” Emily said the morning after she was brought back to the Tower, “when am I going to be crowned?”

“Soon.” Burrows said. He sounded angry and irritable, “I’ve got a lot of work to do at the moment that’s much more important than a coronation. You’re back in Dunwall Tower and that’s all that matters for now. Just keep studying at your books and let me handle all of the important things.”

“But I’m Empress!” Emily grabbed his arm and, ignoring his angry look, she went on, “I should be the one handling the important things.”

“You’re also a child.” Burrows shook her off, “Children can’t be expected to manage an Empire, let alone one in such a terrible state. It would be much better off in my hands until you’re old enough and clever enough.”

He shut the door in her face, leaving her to stand angry and close to tears again. She wished she had Mrs Pilsen with her. She wanted someone to talk to about how much she hated Burrows so badly. She drew a picture of Mrs Pilsen as well as she could remember her and talked to that inside but paper wasn’t cuddly and, when Burrows came to put out her room’s lights for bedtime, a drawing couldn’t keep her good company.

A week later, Emily had finally tried reading some of the books but, to her dismay, none of them had any pictures. She was sure she would die of boredom when High Overseer Campbell came to her room. He said he was there to ‘teach her Strictures’. He did that at first and he never came on the same day every week. Burrows didn’t come with him either. He seemed to have his own key. After a few deadly boring sessions, he started asking her about Burrows. What he was doing, what he was planning and what he might enforce on the Abbey. He didn’t like it when she said she didn’t know.

“Letting your ears wander can be just as bad as letting your eyes wander, my girl. Keep all your senses sharp and you may find yourself able to improve your situation. The Abbey is a force to be reckoned with and you’ll find great rewards for doing service to the Everyman. I, of course, don’t just mean the reward of joining the cosmos when you die but rewards in life too. Like…toys and crayons.”

So, Emily started asking Burrows about the Abbey. She tried to be clever about it and asked indirect questions like, “Are you going to meet with the overseers today?” and, “How many heretics are they catching? I didn’t see any executed this week.”

Burrows didn’t like answering those questions. He either brushed them off or answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. After a while, he grew angry, “I told you before, I’m perfectly capable of handling serious matters without your input and I do not need a little girl pestering me about them.”

Weeks passed and no tutor appeared. Burrows was getting annoyed. He would grit his teeth whenever Emily asked about it and said, “I’m doing the best I can to find you a tutor but there have been a few…setbacks in the recruitment process. Just continue studying your books and test yourself if you’re bored. Now, stop badgering me.”

She did get two tutors in the end and they were the Pendleton twins. Rage made her unable to think when she found out why they were there. There was no way she would let them be her tutors. She screamed at them to leave and, when that didn’t work, she threw her neglected books at them.

“Stop that this instant, you little shit!” Custis snapped when The Second Stricture bounced off his head. He made a grab at her but she dodged away from his hands and jumped on the bed, her hands full of books, “You can’t run forever! When I get my hands on you, I’ll make you wish you were in a tomb with your mother!”

“Custis!” Morgan came between them, putting a hand on his brother’s chest to hold him back, “Keep it down or Burrows will be up here!”

Emily took advantage of Morgan standing still and lobbed a copy of _The Isle of Gristol_ at the side of his head.

“Ouch!” He clutched where it had struck and turned a ruthless eye on her, “You as well! You don’t want Burrows to have to come up here and give you a few charm lessons, do you?”

Emily halted fire but kept a heavy encyclopaedia ready to throw if they tried to get close again. But, neither of them did. They kept their distance and, after a moment’s pause, Morgan began.

“Right then, let’s make one thing perfectly clear. None of us like the situation we’re in. In fact, I can think of a hundred things I’d rather be doing than teaching you sums. But, several circumstances are keeping me from. Namely, that the Golden Cat has closed down, the Estate District is the process of being quarantined, silver production has screeched to a halt and our dear little brother has his appointment with the executioner booked. So, Custis and I find ourselves in need of becoming important to our estimable Lord Regent. So, when he told us that he was having trouble finding tutors for our beloved Empress, I felt it would be a good way to cement our position in his favour.

“So, here we are, in almost as bad of a situation as you are in, and I, for one, intend to make the best of it. That doesn’t involve tutoring you.”

Morgan’s last statement almost made her lower her book, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that we are not going to teach you a thing but sit around in the schoolroom, doing whatever we like. And, so long as you tell Burrows that we’re doing a good job teaching you, we’ll get along fine.”

Emily thought for a moment then scowled, “I won’t. I’ll tell Burrows you’re not teaching me and you’ll be thrown out. And, I hope you die of the plague and the rats eat you.”

Custis gave a snarl and would have charged at her again if Morgan hadn’t held up back.

“No need for that tone, young lady.” Morgan said, smoothly, “I haven’t finished yet. While we’re pretending to teach you, we’ll be doing our own things and won’t be able to give you our full attention. So, you may be able to take the key to your room and go wherever you please in the Tower. Which is something that you haven’t been able to do in a while, I think.”

Emily nearly let the book fall from her hands. Almost.

“So, you get to run around the tower, doing whatever you please all the livelong day so long as you don't get caught, and we get to do whatever we please all the livelong day. Burrows thinks you’re being tutored so he can focus on his ever-so-important duties and everybody’s happy.”

It almost sounded like a good idea if Morgan hadn’t been talking in a lazy drawl which suggested that he was up to no good.

“What do you want from me in return?” She asked.

“Ah-ha, she’s hit the bullseye. Clever girl. Not many little girls your age would know that nothing’s given for free. We don’t want much. We just want you to put aside a little time in your busy schedule to nip across to the meeting rooms and tell us anything you hear being discussed by important men and the Lord Regent without us. You see, Custis and I hate being left out and, if there’s something going on without our knowledge, we want to know about it.”

 _Just like Campbell_. Emily thought. Only, this time, it sounded like she’d have more success at finding things out.

Still, she didn’t like the idea of being a spy. She didn’t want to do them any favours after the way they treated her at the Golden Cat.

But being able to go around Dunwall Tower, like in the good days, was so tempting. She hadn’t even been out in the gardens since Mother died. She had been told her mother was buried there but she hadn’t even been allowed to see her grave.

She didn’t say anything but gave Morgan a scowling nod.

“Splendid!” Morgan clapped his hands with glee and even Custis cracked a smile, “You won’t live to regret it, Your Majesty. Now, let’s get down to the schoolroom, shall we? Time’s a precious commodity, even more so these days.”

The only thing the Pendletons taught her in the schoolroom was the route to the most commonly used meeting rooms and they equipped her with an empty glass to listen in at closed doors.

Custis followed her to the door and seized hold of a maid that happened to be passing, “Right, girl, if you don’t want to see a practical demonstration of where babies come from, move along.”

Emily had already seen where babies come from at the Golden Cat and that knowledge made her jab a finger at his face and say, “You let her go or I won’t tell you a thing!”

Custis looked like she’d hit him. Morgan let out a laugh from behind him, “Kids grow up so fast these days. Only ten years old and already ordering you about. Oh, let it go, Custis.” He added when Custis looked ready to protest, “No point starting a fight over a woman with tits so small and I’m sure we’ll have no problem finding better women around here.”

His face twisting with anger, Custis released the maid who made a hasty curtsy to Emily and hurried away. Before Emily could say anything more, Custis slammed the door in her face.

So, the daily routine began. Emily’s way to the meeting rooms was guarded but she’d had practise sneaking around in the Golden Cat and she managed to get past them every time. As the days went by, there were fewer every day and Emily knew what that meant. It was the same reason that that captain guarding Burrows’ room was pretending his coughs weren’t coughs.

Emily made a point of giving whatever information she heard on Burrows’ plans to both the Pendletons and Campbell. The way both groups ordered her not to tell anyone else made her think they must hate each other. So, that way, she could get back at both of them at once. And, at Burrows too. Plus, Campbell was happy with her for collecting so much information and, after their third ‘stricture lesson’, he presented her with a doll.

Emily decided to name her Miss Pilsen, Mrs Pilsen’s daughter who had lost her mother when Emily had been taken away. At least, she always said she was sorry to Miss Pilsen when she had to hide her away under the bed. That made her nicer than Burrows.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks passed and the distant lights of the city she could see from her window were almost all gone out. _The city is dying_. She thought, her heart sinking to her toes. So, why was she just sitting here? Why was she just being a petty sneak like all those court ladies Corvo used to hate while her people were dying? Perhaps it was better that Burrows was in charge. If this was how she acted while he was acting as her Regent, just how bad would things be if she was ruling on her own?

It was then, while she was crying for her mother, for Corvo and Dunwall, that the door opened and Burrows came in. His lip curled at the sight of her tears, “I thought we had settled this matter. Empresses are not faint hearted and therefore do not bawl like infants in the face of a crisis. It’s fortunate that I’ve come today with someone who will teach you the way to being a proper lady.”

A lady wearing fancy clothes walked in. Emily could tell from the minute she saw her that she was going to hate her. Her clothes were fancy and beautiful but her eyes were nasty, looking down on Emily like she was a dog trailing mud on the carpet.

“This is Lady Waverly Boyle. She is to give you training in the ways of behaving like a proper Empress and not a spoiled child.”

The urge to stab him with something hit again, stronger this time than before. She might have done so if she was close to anything sharp but then he turned and left. As soon as his footsteps faded away, Lady Boyle sprang to the door and, after a quick look around, closed it with a snap.

“We must not be overheard, Your Majesty.” She said in a sneaky whisper, “Come away from the window. Someone might see.”

“But, I’m on the top floor.” Emily pointed out, “No one can see me.”

“People always see.” Waverly insisted and actually pushed Emily away from the window as if it was contaminated, “You can’t understand the importance of what I’m going to tell you. No one must ever know what is about to be discussed in this room.”

There was a word from Serkonos for what Emily was feeling. It took her a moment to remember that it was ‘déjà vu’. Corvo had taught her that.

Lady Boyle looked all around the room, as if expecting spies to be sitting on the chandelier, then took a calming breath and began in a whisper, “Hiram Burrows is going to destroy Dunwall and the Empire.” Emily gave a gasp and Waverly returned it with a smile. Emily’s dislike of her deepened, “Not intentionally. He’s just mishandled the plague crisis so badly that nearly everyone in the city is dead. Every district is quarantined and the only place safe from the plague is Dunwall Tower. That’s why there are all those crowds outside every day, begging to be let in. I’m not sure whether the plague, the City Watch or Sokolov’s devices have caused more deaths but the point is that he needs to be stopped. The city may yet be salvaged if more capable hands are permitted to hold it.”

Emily knew what was coming and was almost tempted to say so but decided better of it.

“I’m a woman of wealth and connections. I can find a suitable replacement as Regent but, first, we need Burrows out of the picture. I am – was his mistress. I used to love him. I thought he had the right idea of how the city should be ruled but I was…very mistaken in that regard. I’ve been pretending to love him as much as I did before to find his weakness. That’s your first lesson in being a lady, by the way.” She added with a small smile, “Let men think you admire them and they’ll open many doors for you.”

Emily was sure Mother never pretending to like someone she didn’t.

“So, while I was having tea with Burrows yesterday, I noticed a safe in his room. Whatever is in there is bound to be his undoing. Where else would he keep it? That’s your second lesson: men are very predictable.”

Corvo was always kind to her but Emily could have never called him predictable.

“He opened it as I was leaving. I didn’t see the full combination but I’m sure the last two numbers were three and five. You’ll have to find out the first number for yourself. Burrows will be away from his room for most of the day but leaves many guards. I’ll cause a distraction so you can slip in. You can be stealthy, can’t you?”

Emily nodded.

“Good. Then, you don’t need lesson three: don’t let your enemy notice you until it’s too late. Once we have what we need, I’ll use all of my power to have Burrows overthrown and put someone competent who’ll let you be a proper Empress in power. That’ll make all of us happy, won’t it? And, you wouldn’t forget who it was that got rid of Burrows, won’t you?”

Emily didn’t like Lady Boyle. She sounded mean and wasn’t at all like Mother but, if she could get Burrows away, then she had go along with her plan.

 _When I’m Empress, I can get rid of her,_ Emily comforted herself.

Lady Boyle led her towards Burrows’ room. The huge ugly wall of light sparked, sending out electric bolts every second. Lady Boyle kept her word. While Emily waited behind a curtain, she said a few words to the guards and they walked away with her around a corner. Lady Boyle had said it was heavily guarded but Emily thought there weren’t that many guards there. They were big and scary-looking but, as they walked away, she saw one of them sway and catch himself on a wall. He covered it up by saying he tripped but Emily thought he was close to fainting.

Emily ran across the corridor and sidled into Burrows’ room. It used to be Mother’s room and it used to be pretty with tapestries and paintings on the walls and a fire in the hearth but, now, it was cold and bare of everything nice. The safe stood tall as Burrows against the wall and Emily could just reach the numbers.

She carefully turned the second one to three and the last one to five. She carefully turned the first number, trying to listen for anyone coming over the sound of blood pounding in her ears. At last, she reached nine, the wheel on front turned and, with a few more clunks, the door swung open. Grinning at her success, Emily stood on her tiptoes to see inside.

There wasn’t much. There were just a few papers and an audiograph but Lady Boyle’s orders had been clear. She swept everything up and hurried from the room. No one was in the corridor and the wall of light. When she got back to her room, it was still empty but, after a few moments of waiting, there were footsteps outside and Lady Boyle appeared.

“Give them here!” She snatched the papers out of Emily’s hands as if it was a chest of treasure and stowed them away in a hidden pouch in her jacket, “I’ll look over them later and start making preparations. You’ll have a proper Regent and be a proper Empress by next week if fortune favours us.”

“What are you going to do?” Emily asked, catching her as she was about to hurry out of the door, “Who’s going to replace Burrows?”

“I can’t tell you.” Lady Boyle said, shortly, and, then, put on an act of civility that Emily didn’t believe, “Not that I don’t trust you but it’s best that as few people know as possible. Just in case someone is careless with their tongue.”

“I won’t.” Emily said.

“Oh course, not. You know it’s our little secret.”

With that, she pulled her arm free and Emily could hear her almost running down the corridor.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Emily thought Lady Boyle had put her plans into action. As she was eating her small dinner, bangs and crashes started going on somewhere outside. People were shouting within the building. Alarms started droning. Emily crossed to the window and pushed it open as far as it would go. City Watch guards were swarming out of what had once been the gardens (but was now a bare horrid place with a big nasty statue of Burrows in the middle of it) and into the building. A man at the door was shouting, “To me! Through the hall and into the front courtyard! We need every man in the front courtyard now!”

Emily tried the door but it was still locked. All she could do was shout through the barely opened window at the City Watch to tell her what was happening.

“Wait! I am your Empress and I order you to wait!” Emily screamed at the top of her voice. No one paid her any notice. In the end, all the watch officers were gone and Emily was left close to tears and still as confused as ever. When everything had gone quiet in the gardens, however, Emily could hear more of what was going on out of the sight.

Walls of Light and Arc Pylons were buzzing, guns were being shot, a multitude of voices were screaming at once and the amplified voice of Burrows rose above them all, “STOP THIS INSANITY AT ONCE! I ORDER YOU ALL TO LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER TO THE CITY WATCH! BY ORDER OF THE EMPRESS, YOU WILL ALL BE PUT TO DEATH IF YOU DO NOT COOPERATE!”

“I didn’t order that!” Emily shouted at thin air. That shout was drowned out by a big upswing of noise. More guns went off and the shouts grew louder.

“KILL THE LORD REGENT!”

“BRING OUT THE BASTARD EMPRESS!”

“SHOOT THE OIL TANKS!”

Then, the loudest bang of all made the glass in Emily’s window shudder. A rough cheer went up and the voices got louder.

A clatter of footsteps approached her room and, with little time to think, Emily grabbed the heaviest book she could reach and held it up, ready to throw. The door banged open and Burrows appeared, a cut on his forehead oozing blood down his white face.

“Put that down!” He snapped, breathlessly, “Quickly! Before they get here!”

He grabbed her by the arm and, without even giving her time to put her shoes on, dragged her out of her room. He pulled her down the stairs to the entrance hall and out of the open front doors into the gardens. Emily had never been in the gardens since Mother was murdered and it looked even worse on the ground that it did from her window. The tallboys that marched up and down scared her and so did the shouts and bangs from the Tower. This would never have happened when Mother was Empress.

“They’re breaking down the front doors!” Lady Boyle joined Emily and Burrows, her hair falling out of its knot and her face as pale as Burrows, “The Arc Pylon’s been destroyed and I can’t find Campbell or the Pendletons anywhere!”

“Never mind about them!” Burrow snapped, “Let the mob rip them apart for all I care! We need to leave at once!”

The three of them ran across the ruined gardens and into the water lock. A few City Watchmen were still there, operating the water lock and bringing up a boat to their level. Burrows shouted at them all to hurry up and do their jobs until they were in the boat and descending to the river level. Emily remembered the day she had waited beside the water lock for Corvo’s return. She used to love the way it made the boats rise up and down when she had a chance to ride out onto the river.

The boat was covered and Burrows wouldn’t let her outside so Emily had to watch Dunwall Tower going away from her out of the back window. Five minutes after they left, she saw smoke rising from the roof. More smoke plumes were rising from the houses and specks of fire gleamed in the grey sky. A huge black ceiling of smoke hung over the whole city.

A childhood song went through Emily’s head: _Dunwall’s burning, Dunwall’s burning…_

Tears rolled down Emily’s cheeks. Mother would be crying too, if she could see it.

Burrows and Lady Boyle weren’t looking out of the windows. Burrows was muttering things like ‘fools’ and ‘traitors’ and ‘all for nothing’. Lady Boyle sat in silence, her face a blank mask.

They went all the way to the mouth of the river and out into the sea. Emily had never been so far away from land. The sky turned even more grey and rain lashed the windows. The waves roiled beneath the ship and so did Emily’s stomach. The City Watch officers were all looking nervous. They muttered to each other about storms and hoping it didn’t get worse.

A huge metal pillar sticking out of the sea like a long finger came into view. A beam of light rotated around it, adding more that lightning to the sky. Burrows at last looked out of the front.

“There’s someone on the dock.” He said, his voice still shaky, “No, a group of people. By the stars, that’s Campbell! And, the Pendletons! What on earth are they doing here?”

They reached the dock with a bump and Burrows pulled Emily out with him, Lady Boyle following behind. The City Watch clustered closely around them, as the Overseers did around Campbell and other guards did around the Pendletons.

“So, you had the same idea we did.” Burrows said, his voice only just even.

“Oh, we knew you’d bring the Empress here if this happened.” Morgan drawled, “Let’s just say a little birdy told us.”

Emily felt cold in a way that had nothing to do with the rain.

“Oh, did they?” Burrows replied, coldly, “Well, nevertheless, I’m glad to see you escaped the mob.”

Emily kept her mouth shut against the urge to blurt out the truth and, still exchanging fake polite statements, Burrows, Lady Boyle, Campbell and the Pendletons processed into the Gatehouse. Walls of Light and Arc Pylons buzzed and sparked around them and nothing about the Gatehouse was pretty. The walls were huge and foreboding, the metal structures were cruel and the guards were armed and mean-looking. Emily hated the place immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

Burrows and the others shut themselves in a room above the walls, overlooking the sea, and Emily was told to sit in a corner behind Burrows and be quiet.

Their conversation started with the five wondering how the riot started and who could be behind it. Burrows was sure someone had organised it and all agreed with him.

“I think I might know how they stirred those idiots up.” Custis spoke up, “Some rumours are going around that you started the plague, Lord Regent, as an effort to kill all the poor people in the city.”

Emily could tell by the way Burrows’ hands clenched behind his back that Custis was right.

“That’s absurd!” Burrows blurted out, “How dare they spread such lies after everything I’ve done to save the city!”

“You have to admit,” Campbell put in, “they have a right to be suspicious. I distinctly remember the Empress dying just as she ordered an investigation into where the rats had come from. An investigation that you scrapped once you assumed power.”

Everyone in the room was glaring at him and Emily glared at him fiercest of all. A clear picture of what Burrows had done was forming slowly in her mind and she was sure now just what a monstrous man he was.

Burrows tried to defend himself again, “I thought you were above believing such dimwitted rot, Campbell. I postponed that investigation because I needed to prioritise enforcing quarantines and catching the rats. There’s nothing suspicious about it!”

This went back and forth for a while and the accusations devolved into an argument.

“You told us that you could handle the plague!” Custis shouted across the table, “You told us you could raise us high above all the nobles in the Empire and what did you drag us to? The very depths of infamy! Deprived of every pleasure of life and forced to hide on an Outsider-spawned rock in the middle of the ocean!”

“You two don’t need any help to sink to the depths of infamy.” Campbell retorted, “But, on all other points, I agree. Hiram has misled us in the extreme. I move for a change of leadership among us.”

“And, which of us would be our leader? You?” Morgan sneered, “It’s rather hypocritcal of you to talk down to us about infamy when you play your little joke on the Strictures every day. I wonder how you’ll manage that here. Perhaps, some of the younger Overseers would oblige your Wanton Lust?”

Campbell drew his sword and made a lunge with it. Morgan jumped backwards but not quick enough. His white waistcoat sustained a horizontal rip over the chest and, in the thick silence that followed, red bloomed over the pristine silk.

Custis let out an bull-like bellow and charged at Campbell, sword drawn. Campbell blocked Custis but then Morgan flung himself upon him too, all cool restraint abandoned. The doors banged open and guards and overseers spilled into the room.

“Quick!” Lady Boyle hissed in Burrows’ ear, “Let’s get to the lighthouse before they notice us gone!”

Lady Boyle gripped Emily’s hand and pulled her through the open door. Emily hoped Campbell and the Pendletons would kill each other and, by the look on his face, Burrows did too. Lady Boyle shouted at the guards to barricade the elevator and stop anyone following them. In a few frantic minutes, they were in the lift, ascending upwards over the growing carnage below. As the doors closed, Emily heard gunshots.

It took forever for them to reach the top and, when they did, Emily had to fling her arms over her face to stop the cold rain and the wind flaying it raw. She was tugged out and up more stairs until, at last, they reached a huge fancy room with a big horrible statue of Burrows and another big staircase leading up into a big richly decorated room with a glass ceiling made nearly opaque by the continuing rain.

Burrows had been quiet throughout the journey to the top. He had even stopped shaking but he was still pale. He had a strange look on his face that Emily didn’t like at all. Lady Boyle, however, had regained her composure.

“Well, now,” She said, moving Emily towards the big table, “all we can do now is wait. So long as the food supplies last, we can outlast the riot and return to Dunwall when everything’s under control.” She deposited Emily in a big armchair next to the unlit fire and opened a drinks cabinet, “Would you like a drink, Hiram? Your nerves must be in shreds.”

“No.” Burrows said and his voice was completely devoid of all emotion, “Fresh air is what I need. Empress, come with me. You must be quite distressed too. Very…very distressing times.”

Emily didn’t want to go with him. Everything about him scared her more than when he was shouting in rage. Lady Boyle moved in front of her, “The child is soaking. I’ll call a servant to light the fire. She’ll need some dry clothes too.”

Burrows stared at her for a moment and then said, “Very well. You go. I’ll stay and have a drink.”

Lady Boyle turned and left back the way they came. When she was gone, Burrows grabbed Emily’s arm and, before she could scream, clapped a hand over her mouth. She was pulled out into the rain again and up yet more stairs. Emily punched, kicked and bit at Burrows’ hands all the way but he didn’t even seem to feel it. He pulled her on like she was nothing but a rag doll until they reached a platform stretching out into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon is that Burrows' allies didn't know he started the Rat Plague. They probably suspected it but he never told them, being as paranoid as he was. He probably thought that one of them might let it slip after too much wine or use that information as leverage (like Campbell). It would explain why that very juicy piece of blackmail material isn't in Campbell's journal. I'm sure Havelock would have commented on it if it was, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Burrows’ feet slipped slightly as he walked towards the edge. Emily fought back harder. She finally got her mouth free and screamed, “Let me go! I am your Empress. I order you to let me go!”

Her words were drowned by the howls of the wind. Burrows showed no signs of hearing her but continued on towards the edge.

“No!” Emily screamed, nearly crying with a sudden surge of terror, “No! Let me go! Let me go, please!”

At last, less than a foot away from the brink, Burrows stopped. Then, he turned towards the city, just a smoking line on the horizon, and yelled.

“ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? I TRIED TO HELP YOU! I DID EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO BRING YOU PROSPERITY BUT YOU FLUNG IT BACK IN MY FACE! YOU DISOBEYED EVERY ORDER, SPAT IN MY FACE AT EVERY TURN AND NOW YOU’VE DESTROYED YOURSELF! BUT I’LL MAKE YOU SORRY! I’M LEAVING THIS SORRY LIFE AND I’M TAKING YOUR EMPRESS WITH ME!”

Then, he froze, his mad shouting cut off with a strangled gulp. Despite the wail of the wind, Emily still heard the quiet raspy voice behind her.

“No. You won’t.”

A leather-gloved hand easily detached Burrows’ from Emily and she didn’t need to be told to run. She grabbed the nearest rail and started to fight the wind back to the lighthouse.

“You’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

Emily couldn’t help herself. She looked back and saw the man in red plunge his sword all the way to the hilt into Burrows’ eye. With a scrape of bone and squish of flesh, he pulled the sword free to be washed clean by the rain and, with a careless toss, sent Burrows’ body falling towards the sea.

Emily stood where she was, shivering from cold not terror, to face the man who had murdered Mother. She knew it was him. The memories of that day were so clear and the nightmares served as regular reminders.

He put away his sword and turned to her. Was he come to kill her too? Would she be tossed off the lighthouse like Burrows? Or stabbed in the belly like Mother?

“I didn’t intend you to see that.” He said.

“That’s okay. He deserved it.” Emily said, keeping her voice as polite as possible. Then, because she couldn’t take the tension of another pause, she asked, “Why are you here? Are you going to kill me too?”

“No.” The man’s face was scarred and his eyes were dark but there was a certain softness in them Emily couldn’t define, “I’ve done enough damage as it is without doing that. Come on. You should get inside before you catch a sickness.”

Emily was about to turn around before she realised something her mother had taught her about going with strangers, “What’s your name?”

“Daud.”

Emily wouldn’t let Daud out of her sight as they walked side by side back to the Lighthouse. She stared up and down him, watching for any sudden reaches for a knife or to grab her, but all he did was close the penthouse door behind them.

Lady Boyle was standing by the table, a red-haired and hollow-faced maid beside her with an armful of towels and clothes. Emily thought she could see a small smile and a silent sigh of relief escape from Lady Boyle but it was concealed by her usual snobby manner at once, “Get the Empress dry and into her new clothes.” She told the maid, who gave her a small bow and quietly ushered Emily into the bathroom.

The maid was silent all through the process of rubbing off the rain water and changing into the dry and much too big clothes. She barely noticed what she or the maid were doing but kept her ears open to the conversation outsider. There were other voices. Daud was asking a man questions.

“Is it done?”

“Yes, sir. The island is ours. The Watch has been defeated.”

“What’s the status of the High Overseer and the Pendletons?”

“We didn’t need to do anything. The twins killed Campbell but a lot of overseers saw them do it. That started a big bloody fight between them and the Pendleton guards.”

“Who won?”

“The overseers. The twins killed themselves rather than get taken and the overseers threw their bodies into the sea.”

“So,” Lady Boyle said smoothly, “I’m the last one standing, am I? As I knew I would. If those fools had just held out from moving against Burrows until they reached the Lighthouse, they might have stood a chance.”

“They’ve almost been as foolish as someone who leaks incriminating information about Burrows to a city full of sick people with nothing more to lose.” Daud pointed out, his eyes turning steely.

Lady Boyle gave a small flinch but composed herself again, “I wasn’t expecting a riot. It’s not my fault some people can’t keep a secret.”

 _Just like Burrows, Campbell and the Pendletons._  Emily thought, _Never admitting it’s her fault. Mother hated people like that._

“Master,” The whaler put in, “this one could be useful as a hostage. Her family’s rich. We could ask for a high price and get it.”

“If she’s got any family left by the time this is over. The Estate District was the first place the rioters hit. The great manors are being torn apart as we speak. I suspect the same thing is happening to the residents.”

Emily was finished and let herself be led back out into the big room. Daud was talking with a man in a whaler mask. The same sort of man that had took her away from Dunwall Tower when Mother had died.

“So,” Lady Boyle said again, “if ransoming me isn’t an option, why not work for me? Once the unrest has died down, there may yet be some of my enemies still cowering in their holes. And, some of the Empress’, too. Even now, I can pay you handsomely for the trouble.”

Daud didn’t answer. He looked at his whaler friend but he didn’t say anything. Then, he turned and looked down at Emily, “What do you want me to do?”

It was the first time anyone had asked her that question in months. Emily knew just what she wanted first. She raised a hand and pointed at Lady Boyle, “Kill her.”

It was worth it to see Lady Boyle’s smile drop off her face and a look of horror replace it, “W-wait, Your Majesty, remember I told you the combination to Burrows’ safe. We can still fix the city together! I have - ”

“I don’t care what wealth and connections you have.” Emily said, glowering up at her and feeling taller with every word, “I want you to die and I want to watch you die so I know you’re really dead.”

She looked around at Daud who stared in amazement at her for a moment. Then, with a resigned sort of look, he drew his sword. Lady Boyle seized a bottle and tried to smash it over his head but he dodged and his sword went through her chest. Her body was thrown down onto the floor and her clothes jangled with hidden coins.

As soon as Emily’s confidence had come, it deserted her. She felt tired and her head felt like a wrung sponge. She rubbed her eyes and said, “I’m tired,” to no one in particular.

Daud crossed the room, bloody sword still in hand, and opened a door close to the bathroom, “This looks like a bedroom. Do you want me to leave you?”

“No. Stay here until I’ve decided what to do next. And throw Lady Boyle’s body into the sea with Burrows.”

She knew she should hate the man who killed Mother and hate herself for making Lady Boyle die but she didn't feel anything. Perhaps, she had used up all her hate on Burrows and the others. Besides, he had done as he was told. None of the others had listened to her or obeyed her.

She went into her room, found the key in the lock and locked the door behind her. She thought that she would cry as soon as she threw herself on the large smooth bedcovers but all she did was fall asleep and dream about a huge empty blue world.

“ _Hello, Emily. Your life has taken a turn, has it not?_ ”

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have it. Yes, in my headcanon, Burrows wouldn’t have lasted long as Lord Regent, even if he had ‘rescued’ Emily and been unopposed by Loyalist Conspiracies. His abysmal handling of the rat plague and his draconian laws would have got him either dead of plague or overthrown eventually. Lady Boyle’s death was a last minute decision before posting this on tumblr, just to round things off and give Emily some more autonomy.
> 
> I'll post something a bit less depressing next time, I promise.


End file.
